What did you guys use to strip your cars?

[TROUBLE987]

did you use sand or soda? and what did you learn?..also did you epoxy it ? just checking to see what you guys have done..i have done like two or three cars with sand and had good luck,never used soda before..so what you guys doing?

[MoparCar]

I built a PVC pipe/plastic sheet tent in my garage for recovery of media. I then used Black Beauty "coal slag" in a pressure blaster and good sized 5 HP compressor. Worked great. I DID NOT use this on flat panels such as doors, roof, hood, etc. Nearly anything but Soda or Plastic will warp those panels. One those panels I used a variable speed Makita 8" buffer with 80 grit at slow speeds and a DA sander to clean it up. My understanding is Soda does a great job, but will not remove rust. Also, Soda needs to be neutralized very well before paint. Do a search on Soda on some of the painting sites like the AutoBody Store forums. Good stuff but some paint companies will not warranty their paint if not neutralized in a certain manner.

Even with the coal slag some areas with rust took some effort to blast "white".

I'm sure Eastwood guys will have some insight on this also since they sell most of these products.

Wes

[Eastwood Company]

As mentioned, sand is not a good idea to use on flat or large surface area panels, it is def. the most effective. But, it can also damage the metal. They key is all in how high your air pressure is and making sure you don't sit on the same area for a long period of time (good to keep this in mind with any media). Soda will remove paints and such, but will not do a very good job removing rust. This is where our dual tank blaster we recently came out with comes into play perfectly. With it you can easily switch between 2 medias, or even blend the 2 together. So for this use, you could blast the large areas with soda, then switch over to sand to spot blast any major rust found on the car. Blend the two medias if you are creeping up into a large panel you do not want to warp. Hope that helps!

http://www.eastwood.com/soda-blasting/soda-blasters/dual-tank-blaster.html?srccode=cuda

This is also a great use for your cuda-challenger member 15% discount too

[TROUBLE987]

I was right in line with what you guys was thinking..i got a guy that rents out my body shop from me and he was telling me to stay away from soda..he has had nothing but problems with it after the fact...he said he has had to redo two cars,strip all back off and start over and he said he nutralized it,now when i had the bodyshop we mostly did newer stuff,accept for a few muscle cars,and i was showed by a few old school guys on how to do old cars..they like to do it like moparcar,they go in and sand blast all rust areas,rockers,inside engine compartment,under wheel wells,and trunk,and all jams,then if the rest of the paint is good they go from there,da it down and spray a coat of epoxy,and start doing body work..now i asked why not take it all off..and they said whats on this car has proved that its a solid foundation..you just build off that..there isnt nothing else you going to put on here that would do any better than this...hes got a point..But im just not going that far and not take it down..if any of you want to add something to this go ahead im all ears...thx again guys for all yalls help

[Topcat]

I media blasted the underside of my car. Since then, I still have aluminum oxide coming out of the frame holes occasionally. Aluminum oxide is lighter than sand so it is a bit easier to get out of the car. Aluminum Oxide costs more but cuts faster, doesn't break down into silica dust, (which is hazordous to breathe) and can be done at a lower PSI without the threat of panel warpage. Red Garnett is another media superior to sand for blasting.

Having it on the rotisserie has helped get most of it out. Because when you rotate the car at different angles, the media hiding shifts allowing a new angle to blow the rest out.

I decided not to deal with media on the interior areas and outer body. I didn't want to deal with chasing it anymore. The interior was Rust Bullet sprayed after a good sanding. The exterior is being stripped with paint remover by hand. Then DA'd to remove any last remaining primer. A very rust free car so it really didn't need blasting option throughout.

[TROUBLE987]

I media blasted the underside of my car. Since then, I still have aluminum oxide coming out of the frame holes occasionally. Aluminum oxide is lighter than sand so it is a bit easier to get out of the car. Aluminum Oxide costs more but cuts faster, doesn't break down into silica dust, (which is hazordous to breathe) and can be done at a lower PSI without the threat of panel warpage. Red Garnett is another media superior to sand for blasting.

Having it on the rotisserie has helped get most of it out. Because when you rotate the car at different angles, the media hiding shifts allowing a new angle to blow the rest out.

I decided not to deal with media on the interior areas and outer body. I didn't want to deal with chasing it anymore. The interior was Rust Bullet sprayed after a good sanding. The exterior is being stripped with paint remover by hand. Then DA'd to remove any last remaining primer. A very rust free car so it really didn't need blasting option throughout.

Well i got three kinds in my area..sand,soda,and something of a coal slag..the guy was telling me about

[Topcat]

i would stay away from the coal (black beauty) and sand. 

Black beauty = coal miner's lung
Sand= Silicosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis

If you do decide to end up using these types of media, you really need an external air system to mask. Paper respirators won't stop silica from geting thru.

Here's a good one but if you looked harder, you can find em for less.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/3m-gvp-papr-respirator-kit-07190-p-11353.aspx

[Jimmy]

I'm using red garnet with between 75 to 120 psi.

Jimmy

[Topcat]

Harbor Freight sells Aluminum Oxide. If you have any place near you that sells sand blasting equipment, chances are they can get you either Aluminum Oxide and/or Red garnett. The Aluminum Oxide sells approximately a buck a lb. What I did was re use it. I had about 50 lbs. media.

Blast your car or items on a platic drop tarp. Sweep it up and siene it back into the hopper. 

http://www.tptools.com/Product.aspx?display_id=9

I'm using red garnet with between 75 to 120 psi.

Jimmy

Haven't tried that type but I hear it's really good. Hardly any loss.

[MoparCar]

The black beauty slag I used had the obvious warnings on it but had a non-cancer causing label. It's a product formed after the processing or use in another application--it basically looked like black glass fragments. It was a while back and I had bought it at my local Grainger distributor.

Wes

[Topcat]

As it says in the ad...

+ Low cost, used for general cleaning
+ Material breaks down rapidly upon first application

20 lbs. for $19.39 doesn't compare to aluminum oxide. About the same.

It would have to be 1/3 the price of A/O since it breaks down faster. This is what you have to keep in mind when shopping for media. Cost, recovery % and breakdown rate.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Summit-913106-Sandblasting-Media-Black-Beauty-Slag-20-l_W0QQitemZ390175201510QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Automotive_Tools?hash=item5ad84118e6

I wouldn't breathe it in without some type of improved filtration mask regardless.

[CudaNut]

I just bought several hundred pounds of the "black beauty" in several "grits" from our local abrasive dealer. It was $12.50 per 100 lb bag, it works great on rusty metal. It leaves a really good tooth on the metal and it doesn't make near the dust sand does and is supposedly much safer. I wouldn't use any of the "coal slag" products on the outside of the car, they are just too aggressive IMO. You still must wear a really good respirator and hood with eye protection.

[troutstreamnm]

I would not recommend soda blasting.  It's nearly impossible to get out of all the nooks and crannies and you need to neutralize the surface of the metal with a weak acid solution prior to paint/body work.  To this day I still have small amounts of soda wash out from the car after washing    I had two paint shops turn me down for the job once they found out the car had been soda blasted.    One place told me to make sure the car was properly neutralized otherwise chemical reactions with the paint will occur and your $10K paint job will be toast.  They refused to take the risk of that happening.  I spent alot of time doing chemical rinses of the bare metal and then doing flash rust removal.  It's been two years since the paint job and no problems (thankfully).  The soda turned out to be alot more headache than anticipated.